Darryl Pearson found this suspicious structure on Google Earth.  1922 was the last year a Sanborn map was available for Henrietta. A brick jail or calaboose is not depicted. The building in this picture strongly resembles a calaboose.  The only unusual feature is what appears to be a window on the side.  If it is a window, it is larger than most and windows in calabooses do not tend to be this low to the ground.  However, there are many variations in floor plans and window placement.  This one needs to be investigated.

On September 9, 2015, I documented a city jail in Ennis (Ellis County); calabooses in Crandall, Frost and Rosser (Navarro County); and a metal cage in Blooming Grove (Navarro County.  On this trip I saw some very interesting structures such as the bell tower in Italy and the railroad depot in Rosser.  Most of these calabooses and cages are already posted on this website.

On our last jail trip, we recorded a concrete building in Barksdale (Edwards County) as a calaboose.  One room had bars and I was told by a local resident that it had served as a jail.  There was something not quite right about it as one room had rather large windows that suggested an office or something other than a jail.  I said I thought it might have been an office for the Night Watchman or Constable.  Today, I received email from Lisa B. Scroggins, the Director of the Claud H. Gilmer Memorial Library in Rocksprings.   She posted my photo on Facebook and got several responses form local residents that suggest it was never a jail.

Floyd Collins is a life-long resident of the neighboring community of Camp Wood and the only use for this building that he remembers is being told it was an icehouse connected to the old Wallace Grocery Store.

The building is on land owned by Lisa Whittley de Aguilar’s Grandmother.  Her father told her that it is the remains of  an old hotel.  The two larger rooms were bedrooms and the smaller one was a bath.  Lisa also said it was part of a dancehall and a saloon that was once two stories, but her grandpa took off the top floor.

This building has been removed as a calaboose and is now regarded as a suspicious structure.  I greatly appreciate Ms Scroggins for taking time to share with me what she was told.

Suspicious structure in Barksdale, Texas

Jess Reed sent me photos and measurements for calabooses in Seadrift and Port O’Conner, both in Calhoun County on the coast.  I really appreciate the help I am receiving from readers of my website or the article I wrote for the Texas Co-op Power magazine a few months ago.  Darryl Pearson also provided information for these same calabooses when he was in the area.

There is a large number of surviving metal cages and cells.  Most (if not all) of these were probably originally placed inside a structure like the ones in Crawford (McLennan County), Nixon (Gonzales and Wilson counties), and Weimar (Colorado County).   Early on, I placed the pictures of the cages in those towns under the tab “Cages and Cells” instead of calabooses.  I did that because I wanted to emphasize and showcase these metal monsters.  Now, they have been moved to the Calabooses tab where they belong.  The cages are also depicted in “Cages and Cells” for cross reference.

Yesterday I got to meet Darryl Pearson, the other jail hunter who sends me great pictures.  We had lunch at the Dixie Cafe in Hearne and then went to the jail in that town.  I was accompanied by Rhonda K. Holley (my designated driver) and her mom Donna Smith.  That’s me on the left and Darryl on the right.  Rhonda took the picture.

On his way to Hearne, he stopped in Franklin and was told about a metal cage in Boone Prairie that had been moved from its original location in Bremond (Robertson County).  It is another good one.  More information and pictures will be posted on this website later.

Darryl Pearson was in Marion, Texas (Guadalupe County) and found this interesting jail that I am putting in the calaboose category.  It is in poor condition but finding it will preserve it through pictures for now and hopefully someday it can be saved.  More information has been posted on this website under Calabooses.

Darryl Pearson found an interesting building in Lyons (Burleson County) inside a fenced area on Water Board property.  He estimated its size as 12 feet by 20 feet and about 9 feet high. One of the locals said it came from the Brazos River bottoms.  At this point, this is all we know.  It has a new tin roof and the walls are also covered with new tin.  This suggests to me that the original exterior may not be in good condition and the tin was added so that it can be used for another purpose such as storage.

Darryl Pearson talked with the Judge in Appermont and learned that the old calaboose was destroyed when hit by a drunk driver.  There is a larger jail that is no longer in use but still standing.   The calaboose will be moved to the Vanished page when I have a page for Stonewall County.

Calaboose

jail still standing

My one page calaboose article in Texas Co-op a few months ago has paid huge dividends.  I have received several leads to new calabooses.  Today the Editor of the magazine sent me a letter from Doug Schafer in Plano who mentions a brick calaboose in Collinsville.  I am checking on this but I think it is the same one I saw in Tioga.  He refers to Clarks BBQ being nearby and I’m positive that is where I had lunch.

Also today, I received my issue of the Medallion published by the Texas Historical Commission.  On the back cover they mentioned the names of those who correctly guessed the mystery building as the calaboose in LaGrange.  They also gave my website link.  Hopefully, more leads will come my way.